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About Buying On-line ...

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Vinny:
We all like to save money and I do purchase on line IF it saves me money but it doesn't always work that way.

My sons play the drums and my oldest is saving for a new good intermediate set.

Well he's been saving and dreaming for a long time about the day it'll happen. He's gone to all the on-line resources to look at drum prices and he was sure that he would get a cheaper price from some of the bigger internet music stores.

Well, we walked into a local store and he was talking about (and drooling at) at all the drums there and they had the brand he's been dreaming about the most. After talking to the sales guy and my son banging on a few of the drums, I asked the salesperson the ultimate question - HOW MUCH?? He quoted me a price (which is what whe could have gotten on-line) and proceeded to tell me that he could sell it for x dollars less.

I then countered offered to buy it for x dollars including the tax - he accepted the offer and we ordered the set for my son ... my son saved $100 off the price that EVERYONE advertises, I couldn't have done that on-line, only at a local mom and pop store.

Dr. Spa™ Ret.:
Actually vin, you still may have been able to do better online. A lot of manufacturers are starting to subject ALL their dealer to MAP pricing. MAP = minimun advertised prices. To remain a dealer they have to agree to not "advertise" a price lower than a predetermined amount. THE CATCH is that if you actually TALK to the seller, THEN they can offer you a lower price. You can frequently tell who's under a MAP pricing rule when EVERYONE is selling, or advertising, a paticular product for the SAME ECACT AMOUNT everywhere.

MAP pricing as of yet doesn't violate any fair trade laws, as they aren't telling you what you CAN sell it for, they're only telling you what you can ADVERTISE it for.

Brewman:
Very common in the Photography business.  One of the large Manhattan based photo suppliers I purchase from will just put CALL FOR PRICE in the price slot if they are subject to MAP on that item.  
This is for both their website and paper catalog.
They have an instant email to give you the price they are selling for, which is almost always considerably under the MAP.  

Vinny:
Interesting, I knew about "advertised prices" but I thought a retailer (any retailer) would have put - call for price - as Brewman said.

I do notice some on-line retailers will put "add to cart to see price" and I thought that was for prices lower than the norm.

I really didn't think about calling an on-line retailer to haggle a price ... and I do worry about buying something like this on line - just in case of problems (finish, hardware ...)

Funny thing is my son has frequented some drum forums (I wonder wher he gets that from  :D ) and the prices quoted of how much the set was bought for are always the same. I would think that it would be like here - one person gets a low price (OK maybe says they got a low price) and everyone would be expecting it.

Dr. Spa™ Ret.:
The "call for pricing" is the real 'lack of imagination' way of doing it, and MOST people wont call as they think it's some sort of scam.

Rats Brew........ I though the instant email thing was unique to myself  ;D......... and I thought i was so shrewd.

The adding to the cart MAY be a work-around with some manufacturers (others wont allow it), but again, I think consumers are very suspicious of it.

*sigh* there's so much more I could say.......... ummmmmm, did you know some MAP policies specifically forbid discussing it not only with consumers but also with fellow retailers.

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